


A Beginner's Guide to Caring for Your Luminary

by Meimi



Category: Dragon Quest Series, Dragon Quest XI
Genre: M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, and Eleven kinda is one too, cause Erik is an idiot, the story from Erik's POV, with extra dumb and cute added in for flavor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-17
Updated: 2018-11-02
Packaged: 2019-07-13 17:43:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16022822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meimi/pseuds/Meimi
Summary: Follow along as Erik meets, gets to know, and slowly learns how to properly care for his Luminary.





	1. Break Him Out of Jail

**Author's Note:**

> And so begins my journey into fic writing again, because I couldn't resist these adorable boys.
> 
> Updates will be sporadic as I'm writing this as I play, and my playtime is limited thanks to current physical issues (I had surgery on my left shoulder not too long ago and physical therapy makes me want to die). As such, I've just now gotten the orb from the mermaids, so if I get anything wrong about anybody's motivations, I can always go back and edit it. Please don't spoil me in the comments~ <3

Keeping track of time became difficult when you were cooped up down somewhere in the bowels of Heliodor's famous inescapable underground dungeons. Nights and days had a tendency to blend together into an amorphous mass of unending boredom. Erik didn't figure he'd been consigned to this dull hellhole for too long though. A few months maybe, certainly not a year. Just enough time to dig a nice little hole straight down to potential freedom. Now he just had to make up his mind and take it. 

It should have been an easy enough thing to do. He didn't care much for jail. It sucked. So why not just take the plunge and get the heck out of dodge, so to speak? _Why not just go?_ There was absolutely no reason to still be here, rotting away, waiting for something that he knew wouldn't happen. No one knew their future, no matter how much someone else told them otherwise. Just because he'd been a little stupid and had gotten caught and thrown into jail was absolutely no reason to believe that _anything else_ would happen. Fairy tales and legends were so not his deal. Thieving was his deal, his chosen profession, as it were. And it was something he would very much like to get back to. So he definitely needed to get up off his butt, break out of jail, lay his hands back on his richest score to date, and then skedaddle until Heliodor was just a dot on the horizon. It would be a perfect sequence of events, which meant, of course, that something would go wrong somewhere in there, but Erik was nothing if not flexible. He just needed to actually get the ball rolling. 

So why was he still sitting here? _Waiting?_

Couldn't be for things that wouldn't happen. Nope, no way. Wasn't happening. Maybe he was just curious then? Maybe Erik was just waiting to see if Heliodor's equally famous knights would actually notice what he'd been doing this whole time? A likely enough reason, right? A thoroughly stupid and suicidal reason, mind you, but what else could there be? Besides, he had enough justification to wonder about that anyway. The knights had been… less than admirable in their intense lack of vigilance on making sure all the nasty little criminals didn't do anything untoward… like breaking out of jail or anything. They brought him tasteless food, clean water, and cleared out his waste on a regular basis, but other than that, nobody seemed to want to come down this way. It was weird. Even bandits tended to have better lookouts than this place. Arrogance, maybe? Could be, Heliodor's knights were known far and wide as being hyper-competent. But maybe _that_ was the real fairy tale here? They sure hadn't seemed competent since catching him, and he still wasn't even sure how they'd managed to get the drop on him in the first place. He'd been careful. There had been no indication that he'd been made. Nothing at all. It was almost like it had been his fate this whole time… 

But that was just him being silly about stupid things. _Not gonna happen._

Erik perked up, gratefully sidelining that train of thought, at what sounded like the tromping of several knights marching their way down towards his cell. _Hmm, interesting. Maybe they had noticed his digging after all?_ Swiftly yanking his hood up, Erik crossed his arms and slouched back against the wall facing the entrance to his cell block, then did his level best to give off an air of abject indifference. He was either about to get nailed for attempting to escape (even though he hadn't quite gotten that far yet), or something else was going on. Either way, it would be a welcome disruption from the overwhelming boredom his life consisted of at present. 

_Holy-_ Erik nearly swallowed his tongue as what he'd been hearing finally came into view. That's a lot of knights. And Hendrik… What the heck was he doing all the way down here? Oh, pushing around some poor kid by the looks of it. Why in the world would they need to send an entire troop of knights, along with _Sir_ Hendrik, their most famous jerk, to lock up some poor kid? Erik's opinion of Heliodor's knights just kept getting lower and lower without him even having to try to think badly of them. _Darkspawn?_ What in the world were they talking about? It's just some kid. The worst he'd probably ever done in his life was walk in on the girls' bath or something equally naive and stupid. This was the most ridiculous posturing Erik had ever seen. Was this some ill thought out, harebrained scheme to scare the crap out of some rich guy's kid? Seemed the most likely explanation; but no, they were all just walking off and leaving him there. _What even-_ This didn't make any sense whatsoever. Granted, the kid didn't look all that rich, but what else could he be? He was clean, well groomed, and looked to be completely baffled at what had just happened. No way was he a criminal. So why was he here? 

_This?_ Was really, really weird. 

The kid didn't seem to know what to do with himself either by the sound of it. Rattling the bars, jostling the jars that had been left behind in the cell, and generally just being a little less than quiet. The noise kind of irritated Erik, if he was being honest. It had been so quiet for so long down here that he didn't really appreciate any unwelcome clamor, even if he had been looking forward to something different just a short while ago. But that was then, this is now. 

"Could you knock it off?" Erik threw out as he slouched back further against the wall. _No. Wait._ He was the one being ridiculous here. This was exactly what he'd been waiting for. Well, no, not really, but _that_ wasn't actually ever going to happen. But this? This was good. A perfect reason to get out. He hadn't asked for a roommate, after all, and if they were going to insist on giving him one, then he was going to make them regret it. But how did he want to go about doing that… 

His own escape would certainly prove to be something of an embarrassment for the knights, especially the ones who were supposed to be guarding him, but it wouldn't make that much of an overall splash. Erik was just a "petty" thief when you got right down to it, and the theft of the Orb hadn't really made any waves as far as he could tell. In fact, back before he'd gotten caught, it hadn't seemed like anyone had even known about it. Which had been odd at the time, and still kind of was, but whatever. This kid, on the other hand… Oho, this kid had just been deposited right in his proverbial lap by Sir Hendrik of all people. Erik wasn't a kidnapper or anything of the sort, but he didn't think the kid would mind all that much if Erik stole him right out from under the noses of all of those knights. The kid could just make his own way home once they were out and it would all be square, they'd both be free and Heliodor's knights would be covered in mud, figuratively speaking. 

Yes, that was perfect. Now he just needed to get the kid onboard. Easy enough. Smirking to himself, Erik languidly looked over at the kid and felt his breath catch in his throat. This guy definitely wasn't a kid, young, yeah, but not that much younger than him. But there was something… It was the strangest sensation, but Erik almost felt as if he should already know who this person was. _Didn't make sense…_ Mentally shaking his head at his own flight of fancy, Erik kicked his brain back on track for the situation at hand. He had an escape to make and a plus one to spring with him. 

"What are you in for, anyhow?" Erik asked curiously, then let the rest of the conversation go on autopilot as he catalogued what he needed to do. A guard would be by soon with the disgusting gruel they fed the people locked up down here. The usual knight was fairly apathetic about his job, so it would be old hat taking him out, and he'd have the keys on him, then- 

It was at that point when everything kind of just locked up and froze and the conversation he'd barely been paying attention to flashed across the forefront of his mind in lurid detail. 

_The Luminary._

_Oh._

_**Oh no.**_

_That… That wasn't- This wasn't-_ He'd like to say that this wasn't supposed to happen, but he had known it would happen all along, hadn't he? He'd been told it would happen, though Erik had never once really believed that little prophecy would actually come true. Fate happened to other people. He was just a thief, nobody special, just somebody getting by in the world by his own means. But here he was, and here they were, and this is where he was supposed to be, after all. Right here, right now. Erik was entirely certain that somewhere someone was laughing at him. Probably himself. Definitely the Seer. Oh well, this was it. The future he'd been denying was standing right in front of him now, it would be stupid to pretend his outlook hadn't flipped itself around thanks to the shock. _The Luminary…_ Kinda young to be a hero, all things considered, but Erik supposed everyone had to start somewhere. And hey, that's probably why out of everyone in the entire freaking world, he'd been the one chosen to be here. A thief who knew the ins and outs of everything would probably be good to have on hand right about now. 

Later, he'd wonder about it a little, about how he just took this fresh faced kid who was barely even an adult at face value. How could someone so unassuming be the Luminary? But he'd only wonder about it for the briefest of moments, because even at this point, deep down Erik already knew he'd do just about anything for this young man. And this was before Erik even knew his name. Funny how things worked out, huh? 

\--- 

There's a dragon underneath Heliodor. 

A giant freaking black dragon. Under Heliodor. 

_What the **hell**?!_

Erik should have known things were going too smoothly for it all to work out okay. The knights had been on the ball about trying to catch them, but he supposed that fit the situation. If those morons were going around calling the Luminary of all people a Darkspawn, then it made sense for them to want to get their hands back on him. Seriously, _Darkspawn_? What even? Anybody who had a freaking dragon hanging out in their basement had no business labeling other people as evil. Much less _the Luminary_. But why is he even surprised? Everything else about this place was crazy, the knights of Heliodor might as well be cuckoo along with it. 

Erik spared a glance to the side as he pelted full tilt down another tunnel. The kid was keeping up with him, then again, he'd been keeping up with Erik the entire way. He'd snuck around the knights just as Erik had instructed him to as if he'd been born to thieving. Which he definitely hadn't. The kid did things well, but he didn't have the moves of a pro. Maybe that was just something else about him being the Luminary? Good at stuff even though he was probably too good to even think about some of the stuff he had to do? Something like that maybe. 

If they survived this, _somehow_ , Erik supposed he could just ask about it. Then again, maybe he shouldn't. Sometimes it was best to just not think about some things. Sometimes you just had to do stuff whether you wanted to or not. _Fate_ , right? Well, probably in the case of the kid, but for him it had always just been another facet of survival. That's what he was good at. Surviving. 

This dragon really needed to go away right about now though. They were not dragon treats. Or human flavored shish kabobs, please stop breathing fire at them and just go away. 

And maybe it did? Erik blew out a hard breath as he surveyed the wooden walkway that was cheerfully burning behind them. They'd gotten out of that last deathtrap of a tunnel in the nick of time, and it really did appear as if the dragon had given up. There was no more fire barreling down towards them, and no more earth shattering stomps bouncing off the walls in horrific, unending echoes. Here's hoping they were home free. But he really ought to know better than that by now. Because just as soon as he thought they were safe, if just from the dragon, here come more knights to chase them down. More running, but not in the right direction, Erik despaired as the newest tunnel they'd headed down opened up onto a ledge and a sheer drop as their only form of escape. 

Pretty place really, great view with a waterfall within arm's reach. Not a bad place to die, if they were going to die, which they were not. A waterfall meant water down below, though a jump from this height ought to kill them. Hitting water from this high up would be just like hitting the ground, after all. But what other choice did they have? Erik didn't want to die, and he sure didn't want the Luminary to die. That's not what they were here for anyway. So… trust in fate, huh? He could do that. _They_ could do this. Just… take a leap of faith and trust that whatever had been watching over them up to this point would continue to do so. 

"The name's Erik, by the way." 

He'd only admit it to himself, and only in the dead of night when he was the only one awake, but the little smile Erik got in return had kinda made it all worth it. 

\--- 

Erik awoke alone on the shore of a briskly running stream, half in and half out of the water, and for a moment's time he couldn't recall why that was completely and utterly wrong. Then it all came rushing back to him and he was up on his feet before he even knew what he was doing. He was incredibly waterlogged, but that didn't matter in the least right now. _Where was he?_ Erik couldn't have lost the Luminary already! Heck, even if he wasn't the Luminary, Erik would still be a hairsbreadth away from panicking. He'd broken them both out of jail, escaped a dragon and the knights of Heliodor, no way was a waterfall going to be the end of either of them. Just… gotta find the kid and everything would be fine. He couldn't be far, the water may be moving at a good pace, but it was still just a stream, more than enough places to get caught on. 

"Hey-!" Erik began to call out, then thought better of it. No need to alert anybody nearby of their presence. Find the kid first, then figure out what to do afterwards. Glancing around at the trees that rose all around him, Erik supposed he'd floated down quite a ways. It had looked pretty clear when they'd been looking down from above. This worked in their favor, at least. If anyone was playing lookout back up on that cliff, they wouldn't be able to see either of them getting out of the water. Though, that was assuming the kid hadn't washed ashore somewhere closer to the base of the waterfall than this. Which would be terrible luck, but Erik highly doubted that had occurred. Their luck might have run out a bit up there, but it ought to have bounced back by now. And if not luck, then fate. Erik wasn't dead, so fate was definitely still working for them. Now to find the Luminary and get back to business. 

But which way? Back the way they'd come, or further down stream? Erik swivelled his gaze back and forth both ways, undecided. They didn't have a lot of time, and he certainly didn't have any time to waste, but he didn't know which way would be the right one. _Which way should he go?_ He wasn't one for indecision, so he wasn't sure where this was coming from, but… _What-?_ Something that felt kind of like warmth climbed up his left arm as he turned to look down stream once again. Maybe… maybe this time, he didn't really need to make a choice. Just… follow something that felt like an instinct instead. Shrugging to himself, and less than eager to ponder over his bout of indecision and the random sensation that decided his course for him, Erik headed down stream, his steps light but swift. They really needed to get out of here. Pursuit wouldn't be far behind. 

He didn't have far to go. In fact, Erik had just started wringing the water out of his hair when he nearly stumbled over what he'd been looking for. The Luminary was laying on his front, half in, half out of the water, tucked away between two tree roots that neatly hid him from view. Talk about luck. Or not, Erik thought ruefully as he crouched down beside the kid. The sigil on the kid's left hand flickered with a soft, golden light, then promptly went out, taking the warmth from Erik's arm with it. Huh. The Luminary. _Right._ Some things would probably always work in the kid's favor, whether he was aware of it or not. Though he definitely didn't know anything this time around. Erik frowned as he brushed the curtain of wet hair back from the kid's face and rubbed his thumb along his cheek. He was drenched. And cold to the touch. And out like a light. Erik prayed that was just it. They didn't need any broken bones or worse. Being on the run was going to be bad enough to deal with, they sure didn't need bothersome injuries added along to the mix. 

"You'll be okay," Erik muttered as he manhandled the Luminary up onto his back. The kid was a little taller than him, but thankfully didn't seem to weigh much more than him. He'd definitely had to carry heavier weights before this, that's for sure. Now then, if he was remembering correctly, there was a nice little church squirreled away in the foothills below downtown Heliodor. No one went there since the only thing around was the Manglegrove and who in their right mind wanted to go there. But he'd heard good things about the old nun at that church. She had a soft spot for thieves. Should be the perfect place to get warm and dry.


	2. Keep Him Close at Hand (But Don't Smother Him)

The old nun had taken one look at Erik and his companion's bedraggled state and had instantly whisked them off into the back room, closing the door behind them and clucking her tongue the entire way. She muttered something about fool boys under her breath as she directed Erik towards the single bed, then bustled about on what he assumed was a quest for extra linens. No questions were asked, and he silently thanked her for that, because he sure didn't know what to say at this point. He could make up a tale easily enough, but he didn't much feel like lying through his teeth when he was taking advantage of the church's goodwill. Some things you just didn't do. 

The Luminary hadn't stirred at all throughout their trek and didn't make a single peep as Erik laid him out on the bed. That was… worrisome. Had he hit his head or something? But no, he'd looked fine when Erik had found him, just completely drenched. Speaking of which, Erik frowned in confusion as he reached down and fingered a lock of the Luminary's hair. It felt only slightly damp, almost dry even, which made no sense whatsoever. It hadn't taken him that long to make it to the church, and Erik could still feel water squelching around in his shoes with every step he took, but the Luminary… was almost dry. What the heck? Did being the Luminary give somebody a self drying ability or something? But no, that didn't feel quite right. This was something else… 

Erik shelved that thought for the nonce as the old nun returned, her arms heaped with the linens she'd gone off in search of. Shaking her head, she clucked her tongue at Erik again as she foisted the heap off on him, told him in no uncertain terms to hurry up and get out of those wet things before he caught his death, then turned her attention towards the Luminary. Erik just shrugged and started stripping out of his clothes. What shame he had left in him was limited to very few things, and he highly doubted he had anything she hadn't seen before. 

"How is he?" Erik asked once he was half down to bare skin and wrestling with a pair of shoes that got way too tight whenever they got wet. Ugh. 

"A little banged up, but he'll be right as rain in no time at all." Erik nodded at her pronouncement, then did his best to fight down the intense wave of relief that had washed over him upon hearing it. He didn't need to be showing that kind of weakness to a little old lady, no matter how helpful she was being. Besides, he'd just _met_ the Luminary. Erik had no business feeling this attached to someone he'd just met a short while ago. He didn't even know the kid's name yet, for pete's sake. Why was he being so ridiculous about this? 

A sensation not unlike dread crawled up Erik's spine, instantly chasing away what he felt was a frivolous line of thinking. _Uhoh._ Swallowing against the apprehension clogging up his throat, Erik craned his head around and met the baleful glare the old nun was sending his way. Ah, disapproving old ladies, now this was something he was familiar with. Unfortunately. "Ma'am?" he ventured carefully. He knew that "Sister" was the more appropriate form of address here, but he didn't think she'd appreciate him trying to be proper at the moment. 

"Scamp! What are you doing dragging this poor boy into your line of work?" The old nun grumped while waving her finger at him as if he were a naughty child she was about to take over her knee. _Oh dear._ "It doesn't take more than a glance to tell he's not fit for that." 

Erik couldn't help a relieved breathless chuckle at her accusation. "You're right, he's not meant for thieving. He's definitely meant for something else." Something far greater. "But he was in a bit of a bind, and there was no one else, so I did what I could to help him out. That's all. Scout's honor." Erik held his hand up and grinned cheekily at the last. He couldn't blame her for thinking poorly of the situation. It did kind of look bad from the outside, especially to somebody who was nominally familiar with his trade. Only the truly heartless got kids mixed up in thieving… or worse. 

The old nun hmmphed at him, but appeared to have accepted his explanation as she turned back towards the Luminary. "Be that as it may, you boys are welcome here as long as you have need. Don't need to be going out while you're still sopping wet, that's for sure. A stiff breeze would have me writing out your eulogy in no time flat." She nodded to herself and gave the Luminary's shoulder a gentle pat before turning her attention back to Erik. "I'll be heading up into downtown Heliodor in a short bit for the daily blessings and… gossip. You keep the bedroom door locked while I'm out, you hear? The knights are a just lot, but they've forgotten that mercy goes hand in hand, and I'd rather they not find out about my predilection for lending a helping hand to strays. You understand, I'm sure." 

Erik nodded in agreement. Made sense. No one would question a locked door in a church, especially not when the resident lady of the cloth was out and about. And gossip would be good. He needed a good lay of the land to help him figure out what to do next. And well, there's no way this old lady would ever believe either of them were the "Darkspawn", so it should work out fine. Luck, fate, whatever anyone wanted to call it, had worked in their favor so far, no reason for it to stop now. 

Of course, he couldn't do much until the Luminary woke up anyway. Which brought him back to his original concern. Erik waved the old nun off, then grimaced to himself and stripped the rest of his clothes off once she'd left. Snagging one of the towels out of the pile of linens, he vigorously scrubbed himself dry, then wrung the excess water out of his clothes and laid them out to dry by one of the windows. Stained glass wasn't all that great for letting sunlight in, but beggars can't be choosers. Shouldn't take too long, at least. A blanket pulled from the pile would serve to keep him warm, and solve the whole naked issue. Which just left the Luminary. 

Erik grabbed a chair and dragged it over to the bed, plopping his butt down in it before reaching over and grasping the kid's wrist. His pulse felt normal. Erik frowned and leaned forward, placing his hand on the Luminary's forehead. No fever. And… Erik ran his fingers through the kid's hair. Completely dry. Huh. But still deeply unconscious, Erik thought as he tapped a finger against the other boy's cheek. Maybe… maybe it had something to do with him actually being the Luminary. That jump should have killed them, or seriously injured them at the very least. But Erik felt fine, and the old nun had said the kid would be perfectly fine. 

Erik leaned back in the chair, crossed his arms, and stared up at the ceiling as he worked recent and not so recent events out in his head. He'd gotten arrested several months back when no one should have been the wiser about who had pulled off the theft of the Orb. A touch of severe bad luck on his part, or so he'd thought. The guards had been pretty lacking in actual guarding once he'd been thrown into jail, so he'd had an easy time of it digging a way out of that predicament. And then, on the day he finishes making his escape route, the Luminary waltzes into his life, just like he'd been told. Their escape hadn't exactly been easy, but when they'd gotten trapped, the bridge had oh so conveniently collapsed beneath them, then they'd somehow managed to not wash ashore in that cavern with any of the knights who'd fallen in with them, granted it had been the home of that freaking black dragon, and they'd barely escaped getting fried, but they'd still managed it. And then, when their luck had seemingly run out, they'd somehow survived jumping off a literal cliff. 

Okay, so fate was working in their favor overtime, but it didn't explain how they'd survived that fall. But maybe there was another explanation for it. Erik got up and walked around to the other side of the bed. This was the Luminary, after all. Reaching down, Erik took ahold of the kid's left hand and studied the sigil emblazoned there. And maybe that was the explanation he was looking for. The Luminary was some divinely chosen hero, right? Maybe he had some built in mystical survival mechanism. Would make sense. But he was so young… Erik looked up at the kid's face, really, really looked at it. Probably sixteen, that was the usual age hereabouts when folks proclaimed kids to be adults and ready to handle whatever the world threw at them. So he was a kid with the power of a hero, but it was highly doubtful he'd had much practice in heroic pursuits, otherwise Erik would have heard about him already. 

So. The kid's power must have been what saved them. That was the most likely and logical explanation. Nodding to himself, Erik walked back around the bed and plopped back down in the chair. And if it wasn't something that the kid used often, then it probably wore him out. That made a tremendous amount of sense given everything that had happened. And… Erik was good at noticing things like that. He'd had… practice… before. And while he truly doubted that the Luminary needed a caretaker, everyone needed somebody to care for them, right? Erik didn't much mind being that. 

\--- 

By the time the old nun had returned from her foray up into the city, Erik's clothes had dried out enough to be worn again. Which was good. He may not have much shame left in him, but he certainly didn't fancy waltzing around with his goods hanging out for all and sundry to take a gander at. The Luminary had yet to rouse, which really wasn't good, but there wasn't anything Erik could do but wait at this point. Carrying the kid might have gotten them here, but hauling him around elsewhere like a sack of potatoes would attract attention. Attention was definitely something they didn't want. For one thing, _he_ was a criminal. For another, Heliodor was full of crazy people who all thought the Luminary was evil. 

…Maybe there was something in the water? But no, _he_ didn't think the Luminary was evil, and he'd been in town for awhile now. He was pretty sure no one in downtown thought that way either. So… something up at the castle maybe? Eh, best to steer clear of there if at all possible anyway. 

The old nun brought back some interesting news, which she regaled him with after she'd calmed down. She'd burst into the room, nearly rattling the lock to piece in her haste to unlock the door, anxious and beside herself with worry, afraid that the Darkspawn might have gotten to them while she'd been out. Erik had almost jumped out of his skin, but had somehow managed to avoid pulling his blade on her. Not that he thought she would have cared much about that, she knew his kind well enough. You just didn't startle someone who lived in the shadows unless you wanted some steel in your belly. But still, it was the principle of the matter. He was a pro, thank you very much. He would keep his cool no matter what, or at the very least, pull off a pretty good pretense of keeping it. 

_Cobblestone_. Erik had never even heard of Cobblestone. Which made sense, he supposed. A nowhere town was the most likely place for a hero to grow up with people being none the wiser for it. Hendrik was going to be a problem though. The kid would definitely want to go and make sure everybody he knew was all right and stuff, and Erik sure wouldn't blame him one whit for that, but there was no way they were going to get past Hendrik. They would have to lay low for awhile, which fit Erik's personal plans nicely. He didn't want to leave the Luminary all on his own. _He couldn't_. But at the same time, Erik _had_ to get his hands back on that Orb. That thing… Honestly, that heist was going to be a pretty significant notch in his belt. The knowledge that he'd managed to nab something that rich out of Heliodor's stronghold of a castle would get him places, of that he had no doubt. But he really didn't care about that aspect, there were… other things that mattered when it came to that damn Orb. He _couldn't- no, **wouldn't**_ leave without it, which meant he had to go back into the city to fetch it, and he was going to have to drag the Luminary along with him. Not exactly a wise choice of action, but it was something that had to be done. Now if the Luminary would just wake up already. 

Wishing for things hadn't ever really gotten Erik anywhere, and it still didn't, but an hour spent poking the kid and hoping he would wake up soon seemed to have at least kept him from going stir crazy. It was the little things in life that mattered in the end, after all. The kid shifted away from one final poke and Erik couldn't help the grin that practically split his face in two. _Finally_. "Wake up, lazybones," Erik singsonged cheerfully. Another shift followed, and Erik couldn't resist one more chipper verbal poke before a pair of bright blue eyes blinked open at him. Huh, he hadn't had time before to think about it much, and he'd been too worried to really contemplate it later, but this kid sure was easy on the eye. That… might prove to be a problem. People noticed pretty people. That kind of attention was the last thing they needed. Erik was going to have to scrounge up something for the kid before they waltzed back into Heliodor. Neither of them were going back to jail, not if he could help it. 

Erik went through an abbreviated explanation for everything that had happened after their leap of faith, overplaying the old nun's assistance and downplaying the likely mystical aspects of their survival. He didn't know why exactly, but he had the strangest feeling that the kid had no idea of what it meant to be the Luminary. Granted, Erik didn't really have much of an idea about it either. Something about saving the world and being the chosen hero of… something. Everybody knew about the Legend of Erdwin, the first Luminary, but not many folks could tell you any details about what Erdwin had actually done. Saved the world, sure, but how exactly had he done that? Well, Erik supposed they'd figure that out one way or another. But first thing's first. 

He let the old nun give the Luminary the down low of what all was going on. The kid cringed slightly when the old lady waxed on about the dangerous Darkspawn, but thankfully managed to keep his cool. Good. That was a good sign. Erik sure didn't want to have to factor the kid possibly freaking out into their next course of action. A hero needed to keep it together anyway, right? Something like that. It wasn't hard at all to convince the Luminary to go along with Erik's plan once they'd bid the old nun farewell. And the nice little hood Erik had swiped from the church's stores fit the kid like a glove, so that problem was solved. Though… 

"Try to keep your eyes to the ground while we're in town, they're a little too luminous to miss head on," Erik advised. The kid nodded his understanding. Oh yeah, that was something else he needed to fix too. "By the way, I haven't caught your name just yet. You know mine, so it's only fair." 

"Oh," the kid had been pretty straightforward up until now, but at this he seemed a bit hesitant. Something wrong with telling Erik his name? "It's Eleven." 

Erik blinked. What? Eleven what? What was the kid talking about? Was this some weird Luminary thing? "Eleven?" Erik repeatedly doubtfully. 

The kid ducked his head down in what looked to be embarrassment, then reached up and scratched nervously at the side of his neck. "Yeah, that's my name." 

"Oh," Erik said dumbly. That was… Well, that was certainly an odd choice in names, but who was Erik to judge? No one had a choice in how oddball their parents turned out to be in naming things. Besides, he'd definitely heard weirder ones in his time. Some folks, thieves in particular, were really kind of nuts about that stuff and went all out with stupid titles related to all sorts of outlandish crap. At least the kid's parents hadn't had the gall to name him Erdwin. That would have been really stupid and way too obvious. Eleven, huh? Erik could get used to that. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Eleven," Erik said cheerfully, emphasizing his statement pointedly with a jaunty two fingered salute and a sunny smile, "I have a feeling that this is the beginning of a beautiful partnership." 

Even hidden in that hood, Eleven's relieved smile shone through. 

\--- 

The trek up to the city was uneventful for the most part, though Eleven displayed an alarming habit of trotting off the beaten path to go shove a tree or cut off a sprig of something to put in his bag. It was alarming because every single time it happened Erik wasn't expecting it at all, though it was interesting in a way. Here Erik had been assuming he was the veteran at all things survival related and the kid was already showing him up. He ought to stop doing that too. Eleven really wasn't a kid, and by Erik's reckoning, was only a few years younger than him. A young hero, but one old enough to make his own way in the world… with Erik's help. 

Downtown Heliodor hadn't changed at all since Erik's arrest. He wasn't sure whether he wanted to feel relieved at that or concerned. It was still the same old sprawling mass of rickety buildings populated by loud, obnoxious people. Even the smell hadn't changed. Erik would almost consider it a home of sorts, but it wasn't. Home was the people you loved, not the places you lived in, and by that measure, Heliodor could never be a home to him. But it had served its purpose well enough. It had given him a roof over his head and an everchanging throng of marks to nick valuables off of. Maybe he'd come back once everything was said and done, but he doubted it. The only thing he really wanted from this place now was the Orb. 

It wasn't where it was supposed to be. _What the-?_ There was no Red Orb to be found anywhere in the garbage pile, and the place where they'd hidden it didn't look like it had been disturbed all that much. Didn't make any sense… unless… 

He hadn't thought about Derk much during his incarceration, hadn't thought he'd needed to. Derk had always been a smart cookie and hadn't been anywhere near Erik when he'd gotten snatched by the knights. Besides, out of the two of them, Derk was the one with the real survival instincts. He'd always been able to find his way out of a jam. One way or another. That said, right about now, it sure looked like Derk's survival instincts included a nice big helping of stabbing Erik in the back. _That dirty rotten-_

Betrayal wasn't really a feeling Erik was all that familiar with. He generally didn't get close enough to folks to even make it a possibility. But he'd been close to Derk, had trusted the man with nearly everything. They'd been _partners_. Erik was _**livid**_. He was going to make Derk cough up that damned Orb if it was the last thing he did. He just needed to find out where the traitor was holed up at. Which meant it was time to go have a chat with Ruby. She'd know where that son of a- _No_. He needed to stop that. Erik took a deep, calming breath. If he didn't get it together, then he'd start ranting, which was never a good thing. Keep it calm and collected, at least until he got his hands on Derk. 

Thankfully, he hadn't managed to run Eleven off with his snit. Did having the patience of a saint come with the whole Luminary package deal, or was he just naturally even keeled? It was a good thing either way, because Erik had ended up needing Eleven's help to track Ruby down. She hadn't been in when he'd gone to call on her at the inn. Of course not, why would anything be easy for him? She didn't really have good news for him either. The only way Derk could have opened up a shop _anywhere_ was if he'd sold that damn Orb. That dirty rat. 

Getting into uptown turned out to be a fairly painless process. That one sentry was never going to get promoted from his station in downtown, not unless he dealt with that ridiculous fear of dogs he had. Not that it was really any concern of Erik's, oh no, that fear worked ever so well in their favor. Convincing the little girl to let them borrow her dog for a short while probably would have been annoying without his inability to not snatch things or Eleven's inability to not pick up stuff in the great outdoors. The holy water Erik had nabbed at the church when he'd been digging for something to hide Eleven's pretty face served them well, and the berries Eleven had knocked out of a tree on the way into town cinched the deal. One eager doggie and one terrified sentry fleeing his post coming right up. 

Uptown at least smelled better than downtown, but that was about the only good difference between the two. Heliodor proper was still stuffed full of loud, obnoxious people that Erik just had no use for at this point. He wanted that damn Orb back in his hands along with Derk's face bashed in for good measure. They had to wait til nightfall to make their way across the roofs into the "noble's quarters", but thankfully that hadn't been too far off. Not enough time for Erik to stew, which was just as well. He would have just gone barreling up on his own, endangering himself foolishly when he _knew_ better. Having Eleven along with him kept him grounded. Being here was risk enough, he couldn't push their luck any further by acting on impulse. Or at least, that's what he tried to tell himself. Erik was still fuming though. _Some partner_. 

If there was one good thing about everything that had happened, a silver lining if you would, it was the fact that most of the knights were absent from town while they tried to hunt down the Darkspawn. That left far too few guards to watch out for a couple of shadows slinking inbetween the rich people houses. If some other thieves weren't taking advantage of this boon gifted to them by the "evil" Luminary, Erik would eat Eleven's bag without emptying it first. 

His reunion with Derk turned out to be a lot more surprising than Erik thought it would be, a lot less violent too. Go figure. It provided him with an explanation for why the guards in his cell block had been so out to lunch. Bribes worked ever so well on the bored and disillusioned, and having to play babysitters to criminals would have brought out those two feelings in droves. It still left Erik with the problem of getting his hands back on the Orb though. The Kingsbarrow was all the way out on the Emerald Coast. That would be quite the journey. Best to get Eleven back to Cobblestone first, though Erik highly doubted they'd be staying there for long. Hendrik and his posse weren't the type to give up easily, if at all. They'd have to hotfoot it out of the kingdom soon if they wanted any sort of peace. Well, they'd end up on the Emerald Coast anyway, maybe Erik could finagle their way onto a ship or something. Eh, he could figure it out once they got there. They had to get through the Manglegrove first before any of that would even matter and that was going to be quite the task. Erik was not looking forward to it, but needs must. 

Derk wished them well, and asked no questions about Eleven. Smart man. Not that Erik thought that Derk would make anything of it, not now at least, but sometimes it was just better to not know. As long as the powers that be in Heliodor were acting completely bonkers over the Luminary being the Darkspawn, it just wasn't safe to know anything about Eleven's situation. Which meant it was time to skedaddle for good. Cobblestone by way of the Manglegrove ought to be quite the trip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, this took longer to get out than I had intended. Very sorry for the protracted delay. It was mostly me wanting to find out the significance of the Orb in relation to Erik before committing to anything in this chapter. And then I just ended up being vague about it anyway. Go figure. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ I have beaten the game now, so there shouldn't be such long delays from here on out.


	3. Take Him to New Places

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, and welcome to another exciting episode of "Wow, that sure took awhile to update. What gives?" Alas, this chapter was meant to be finished about two weeks ago, and then the flu happened. Spent about a week being absolutely miserable, and then when I felt marginally human again, I discovered that the flu had put a dent in my shoulder recovery. Spent another couple of days absolutely hating everything ever, but here we are finally, back with the dumb boys being cute. o7

They spent the last few hours until dawn back at the little church in the foothills. The pews served as beds well enough. They hadn't dared to wake up the old nun, or rather, Erik hadn't. He just wasn't in the mood to get chewed out by a little old lady over some imagined, or not so imagined, slight. He wasn't leading Eleven down some dark path of illicit activity, or whatever sin she'd dreamed up for them. It wasn't at all his fault that Heliodor's upper crust were completely nuts and apparently wholeheartedly believed in some garbage about the Luminary actually being the Darkspawn or whatever. It was ridiculous. Erik had only known Eleven for about a day and he could already wax on at length at how absurd the entire mess was. **Darkspawn**. _Really_.

Surprisingly enough, the old nun didn't rise before they did. A small blessing. Erik gave his silent thanks for a myriad of reasons and then they were off. That's when things got… interesting. Yes, _interesting_ was a good enough way to put it.

Making their way into the Manglegrove had ended up being something of an adventure in and of itself. From the foothills below Heliodor there really was only the one pass to get through, but boy did that turn out to be a difficult task, more so than Erik had initially assumed. It was the season, apparently. The season where there were baby animals all over the place, and in this particular case: sabrecat cubs. Or sabrecubs, if you would. There'd been a veritable pack of them all over the pass leading down to the Manglegrove. Or was pride the proper term to use here? Pride, pack, eh? Whatever worked. The end result was lots of cute, excessively annoying kittens underfoot where no one in their right mind would want them. Sabrecubs were vicious, playful little beasts, but they only came up to the ankle. They weren't the real problem. Their parents were the actual problem. Because where there were babies, their much larger, murderous parents wouldn't be far behind. Erik's plan had been to keep to the trees and skirt around that disaster in the making. And it had worked for the most part, up until Erik had tripped over one of those stupid stump monsters. Not his finest moment. Thankfully, they'd managed to dispatch the irate branchling without attracting further attention, but Erik got the feeling that Eleven had been quietly laughing at him the entire time. Not that Erik could really blame him if he had, it had been a rather comical situation.

Either way, they finally strode into the Manglegrove proper around midday, sharing a simple lunch between them of some bread Erik had swiped on the way out of Heliodor and some of those berries Eleven always seemed to know how to find. A stream not too far in provided some fresh water to wash it down with. Eleven also took the time to top off a small canteen he kept in that bag of his.

The Manglegrove was quiet… and wet. It was also incredibly overgrown, but that was to be expected with a name that incorporated "mangle" in it. The shadows cast by all the trees and vines were so deep and dark in places that it might as well have been nighttime. Great place for predators looking for a snack, not such a great place for tourists on their way through. Every now and then, a hulking stone structure would peek out between the overwhelming greenery, as if to remind anyone who came through that this place used to be something else. What that might have been, Erik wasn't entirely sure. His forays into local history had mostly been for useful stuff: good places to hide and valuables to liberate. The rise and fall of prior civilizations hadn't really mattered all that much at the time. Didn't really matter all that much at the moment now either, it was just something of note, he supposed.

What mattered was getting through the Manglegrove in one piece, more or less. A goal which was somewhat hampered by the fact that everything was wet. Erik couldn't recall it having rained the night before. Sure, it had been damp when they'd left the church that morning, but that had been from the morning dew. There hadn't been any sign of rain. The Manglegrove on the other hand was just super saturated all over. What the heck? There hadn't been a cloud in the sky when they'd finally escaped the kitten disaster. Sure, he couldn't really see the sky all that well thanks to the over surplus of trees that put the grove in the mangle, but from what little he could spy, it looked clear enough. Maybe it had some weird self-contained weather system? It wouldn't be the strangest thing he'd come across, that's for sure. He could do without the ground squelching under their feet though. Once they were out of this yuck, Erik might need to beg that bottle of water off of Eleven just to clean his shoes. Ugh.

A little further in, the path opened up abruptly on a sheer drop down into a deep gorge. Huh. Erik had known it was rocky in this area, but he hadn't quite expected this. To be honest, he wasn't all that familiar with the Manglegrove for obvious reasons. That whole "mangle" thing kind of discouraged folks from ever wanting to come here, thus very little information ever got passed around about it. But be that as it may, this might actually prove to be a problem. Humming to himself, Erik walked up to the edge of the cliff, crouched down, and surveyed the area below. There were some nasty looking plants down there, but they weren't what really drew the eye. No, it was the cyclops patrolling alongside the water down below that was the real kicker. _No_ thank you. "We are not going down there," Erik stated plainly as he glanced up at his companion.

Eleven vehemently shook his head in agreement. Excellent, that was another thing Erik wasn't going to have to worry about then. Eleven was young, sure, but he was also the Luminary too. A heady combination if anyone took the time to actually think about it. That made Eleven a _young_ hero. Erik had heard enough stories about heroes to know that young heroes were the absolute worst about anything that might be perceived as a "challenge". Good to know that Eleven wasn't the type. Though Erik supposed he should already have figured that out, since Eleven had been smart enough to run from that stupid dragon. Still, it never hurt to have a little extra confirmation for well developed common sense.

Unfortunately, Eleven being sensible didn't help them get across this little roadblock, but that bridge Erik spied a ways off to their left probably would. Most folks didn't come this way, but apparently someone did. _And-_ Erik stood and turned towards Eleven, about to point out his find when something else grabbed his attention. _What the heck?_ He blinked several times, hoping that the phantasm situated a few feet behind Eleven would right itself. But no, reality remained the same and the mirage continued to stand there, merrily chewing on the greenery. What was a domesticated cow doing in the middle of the Manglegrove?

And that's when everything went sideways. The cow, because it was most certainly a cow, raised its head, looked right at them, and spoke. "Good moofternoon!" It even sounded cheery. _How?_

Erik couldn't really properly describe the next few minutes. At most, he could say he probably had an out of body experience. Either way, his brain took a more clinical approach to current events than it ever had before and swiftly catalogued the facts that the cow sounded like a girl, was probably a dairy cow by the look of her, and that her greeting was a terrible play on cows and hellos. In conclusion, the next few moments of his life were likely to be full of terrible cow puns. _And why was Eleven just waving at the **talking cow**?_ Was this normal for him? Did they have talking cows in Cobblestone? Inquiring minds didn't actually want to know, but it was better to think about that than the fact that there was a talking cow. Right here. In front of them. _Why was there a talking cow?_

"Would you like to hear the latest forecast?" _What?_

"You know the weather?" Erik asked dumbly.

"Well, of course I do. I'm a mooterologist. It's my job." The cow sounded very proud of herself. How did a cow manage to sound proud of themselves? And mooterologist? That just sounded- No, actually no, Erik just wasn't even going to think about it. This encounter was surreal enough as is.

Erik glanced over at Eleven, took note of the polite smile Eleven was directing at the "mooterologist", then turned his attention back towards the cow. "Sure, lay it on us." What did they have to lose at this point? Their collective sanity had probably already taken a leave of absence.

"Moooo. Let's see what we have here." The cow tossed her head and stomped her front hooves in what appeared to be excitement. "Around midnight we should have an udderly delightful rain shower, but it looks like the skies should start to clear at dawn! It'll be perfect weather for adventuring, so grab the bull by the horns and get out there! Moooo!"

Erik just blinked. He had a sneaking suspicion that Eleven was doing the same. "Those puns…" he started, but had no idea of how to finish. What did a person say to a talking cow who threw out cow puns?

Was… Was it his imagination or was the cow blushing? How in the world did a cow actually manage to blush in a visible manner? Weren't they covered in hair, fur, or whatever? "I know. I know," the cow spoke in obvious embarrassment, "My sincerest apologies! I'm afraid I'm still a little awkward with my delivery. It's my first day on the job, you see. But don't you worry, I'm certain that with a little practice I'll be delivering the weather report as well as any veteran mooterologist!"

"Oh! It's your first day? Well, congratulations," Eleven finally spoke up, saving Erik from having to try and parse the cow's statement. "You're doing a fine job. Keep up the good work." He even sounded believable. Erik was almost envious. In fact, he would be envious if he could just get past the whole talking cow concept. Alas, he brain was still stuck on that.

The cow thanked them profusely and wished them well as Eleven bid her goodbye, tugged Erik around, and pushed him towards that bridge he'd spied earlier. Ah, so Eleven had seen it too. Good. That was good. Why was there a talking cow? "Is that normal?" Erik asked once he figured they were out of earshot of the cow.

"Is what normal?" Eleven asked placidly.

"Talking cows."

"Never seen one before in my life," Eleven answered easily enough.

"You don't say," Erik muttered as they drew abreast of the bridge. It looked sturdy enough, but there were no railings of any kind, not even a rope on either side. Did no one around here have any respect for safety? "So that was a first for you too?"

"Mhmm."

"You were awfully calm, all things considered," Erik pointed out absently as he tested the first plank on the bridge. Hmm, it felt solid enough. They should be fine to cross.

"I was just following your lead."

Erik stopped halfway across the bridge, turned around, and grabbed Eleven by the shoulders. "I wasn't calm at all."

Eleven smiled sheepishly and ducked his head. "Neither was I."

Erik nodded gravely, then pointed in the direction of the talking cow. "That did happen though, right?"

"Yes," Eleven said earnestly. "We both just met a talking cow who told us the weather."

Erik nodded again before turning back around and continuing their trek across the bridge. "The Manglegrove sure is a strange place," he offered once they were back on solid ground. Eleven laughed at that, and Erik couldn't help but grin back at him in return. This was already turning out to be the weirdest journey, but so long as they could laugh at it, Erik figured they'd be okay.

The far side of the bridge was, for all intent and purpose, a cliff island. There was a very comfy looking campsite nestled on one side with a nice view, and Erik was loathe to not use it. Unfortunately, they still had more than enough light left in the day to get out of this crazy place if they kept their current pace up. A well made wooden cabin accompanied the campsite. No owner in sight though, but Erik supposed that was just as well. While he highly doubted that news of the "terrifying Darkspawn" had reached this hole in the wall, it was best to not take any chances when at all possible. A covered well was situated on the far side of the cabin… along with a wrecked bridge. Erik should have known. Asides from the sabrecub and stump monster fiasco, things had been going far too well for something to not go horribly wrong. There would be no getting across the wreckage either, too much of it looked to be burnt to the point of ash. Erik might be light on his feet, but that much structural damage would have even him going splat down into the marsh below.

"We're still not going down there," Erik stated flatly as he looked over at Eleven.

Eleven just shrugged in acknowledgment. They both spent several minutes staring despondently at the trashed bridge, then Eleven glanced back the way they'd come and absently reached up to tap at his chin in thought. "Wasn't there a little pass through the cliffs back behind the house?"

Erik perked up. That's right, maybe they weren't as screwed as it appeared. "Yeah, let's go check it out."

It wasn't exactly a small opening in the cliffs behind the house; and it certainly didn't look like either of them would need to squeeze through anywhere. That was good, at least, but the considerable land bridge that spanned over the entrance did not fill Erik with much confidence. It looked a little too much like the beginnings of a cave. Sure, there was sunlight shining through not too far in, but still. _Please don't be a cave._ A two-tone mutt of a dog met them at the entrance, and after the cow, Erik was just so done with normal domesticated animals. "Please don't be a talking dog," Erik told it in no uncertain terms. It whimpered at them, but thankfully did not talk. It did follow them though. Erik didn't particularly care for that, but he wasn't going to be mean to a dog that wasn't being mean to them. It was fine, it was probably just curious at what they were doing. That's all.

Unfortunately, this little detour lead them to a dead end. There was a clearing at the end with a weird vine plant growing in the middle of it and that was it. _Wonderful._ If they couldn't find a way through the Manglegrove, then they'd have to double back through Heliodor. And that was very much not ideal. Erik could sneak them both back through the city, of that he had no doubt, but with Hendrik and his men waiting on the other side, there wasn't much point to it. If they couldn't get through here, then they weren't going to get through.

The dog whimpered sadly at them again, and Erik couldn't help but sigh in shared distress. "You and me both, Rover."

And that's when things got weird again. Eleven hadn't seemed all that concerned about their predicament. In fact, his attention had been wholly captivated by that strange plant. Which had started to glow - _What?_ \- when Eleven took a step closer to it. "Hey-" Erik started, reaching out towards Eleven even as Eleven reached out towards the plant. There was a flash of golden light, and then reality faded out only to be replaced by some bizarrely tinted scene of the cabin they'd just left. _How did they-?_ The scene played out as a stout, bearded, little man passed by the house, singing a happy and absolutely atrocious jingle about cutting trees as he headed towards the wrecked bridge. He was far more surprised about it than they'd been, and angry too. Oh, he'd built the bridge himself. That explained it. The diminutive devil that popped out of the wreckage also explained some things. And then when the woodcutter got turned into a familiar looking dog, Erik just didn't want to know anything else. Sadly, his wish was not granted. They got to watch the devil going off to set up his next prank too. What joy.

Then they were back in the clearing with that weird, glowing plant. Well. That had been a thing. Right? So. Oh hey, the sigil on the back of Eleven's left hand had been glowing again too. Well then, it had to be some Luminary ability that let them see the past or whatever. Okay, Erik could deal with that if it was a Luminary thing. It might be weird, but if it was Eleven then Erik would trust in it. Anything that could help Eleven out was good. Right. What he didn't want to deal with though was the dog that was standing right beside him. Alas. "Well, at least you can't talk," Erik muttered as he looked down at the man turned canine. The dog, thankfully, did not whimper at him again.

"We have to fix this," Eleven said decisively.

Erik couldn't help an almost goofy grin at Eleven's heroic statement. It was kind of silly really, but he couldn't help but feel a touch of pride at Eleven sounding so noble already. They were just now starting out. Who knew what the world had in store for them? But if this was Eleven at the very beginning, then Erik couldn't wait to see what he'd be like at the end. First thing's first though, they had a tricky devil to track down and a beatdown to deliver. "Yeah, let's," Erik agreed heartily, then looked back down at the dog and shook his finger. "No following us, Rover. There's no telling what that bratty monster could still do to you."

Thankfully, mister pooch appeared to agree with them. Or at least he didn't try to follow them back across that first, still intact bridge. _Why hadn't the devil burnt it down too? What an odd exception._ There had been a river gorge near the treasure chest the devil had been plotting over in Eleven's vision. That was probably the waterway used as a border between Heliodor and the Costa Valor… which meant they'd be passing by the talking cow again. Great. Oh well, needs must.

Much to Erik's relief, they did not stop to have another chat with the cow. Eleven did wave at her though, but only after she mooed at them in greeting. Erik got that being the Luminary probably meant that Eleven had to be nice, but honestly, Eleven was just a little too polite for his own good. Sometimes it was best to just ignore the talking farm animals. Quicker too. The treasure chest was right where Erik suspected it would be. Good thing neither of them needed to go to the Costa Valor though, since it looked like that annoying little pest had trashed that bridge as well. What a bother.

The tricky devil shot out of the chest like a jack in the box as soon as they approached. Neither of them were impressed. In fact, Erik couldn't help but taunt the little guy. The entire display was dipping pretty deep into loser land. Just not threatening at all. The shapeshifting beam was easy enough to dodge too since they'd both been expecting it, but boy did that make shortstuff angry. The devil flat out attacked them after that, and even in this, it was pretty sad. Overall, this tricky devil seemed to favor fire spells, but they just weren't enough in the face of Erik and Eleven's teamwork. Now _that_ was something to be proud of. They'd only known each other for what, two days now? But Eleven could already tell when Erik wanted him to feint and draw attention for a back attack. The devil was dispatched posthaste and the only real damage they took was a barely there singe on the hem of Eleven's coat.

Before they had much of a chance to celebrate their victory, the sound of footsteps racing up the slope behind them had them both turning in tandem, ready for the next possible attack. It was just the guy from the vision, thankfully, huffing and puffing as he skidded to a stop before them. "Oh look, it's our pal the pooch," Erik said with a smirk as he surreptitiously sheathed his dagger.

The old guy huffed out a few more labored breaths then grinned up at them in obvious joy. "Not any more! Thanks to you, I'm back to my old self!" Introductions were traded after that with Flint, the woodcutter, being incredibly thankful to them both for dealing with that horrible pest. Shame they had to kill it, but a monster was a monster, and there wasn't much else a person could do with something that was trying to set them on fire. Flint asked them if there was anything he could do for them, which led them back to Flint's cabin with the older man running around here and there, checking up on his supplies and whatever else he'd need to repair the bridge for them to get across. Erik and Eleven both offered to help, to speed things up if nothing else, and really, Erik wasn't going to leave some poor old guy to do all the work when he was right there. But Flint refused on the grounds that they'd done the most difficult work so far, what with fighting that monster and all that. He wouldn't even let them help him prepare dinner once it started to get dark out.

Once their bellies were full, and after Flint had thanked them yet again for what they'd done for him, Erik begged off on bunking in the cabin for the night. The sky was clear and he was loath to miss out on enjoying the comfort of the adjoining campsite. Eleven stayed behind for a short while, seeming to want to speak with Flint about something or other. Erik was a tad bit curious, but figured Eleven would tell him whatever it was if it turned out to be something important. The campfire was crackling merrily, and Erik had laid out some blankets he'd snatched for them, by the time Eleven finally joined him.

To be honest, Erik wasn't entirely enamoured with the stars. Most times, given the choice of places to sleep for the night, he'd pick whatever was most convenient. Whether that meant he slept underneath a roof for the night, or bedded down beneath the sky, well, he just tended to leave that up to whatever circumstances occurred at the time. Tonight though, he kind of just wanted to look up at the stars and be still for awhile. Eleven smiled at Erik before settling down on the blanket laid down across from him. That was good. He liked seeing Eleven happy, especially after all that crap he'd gone through in Heliodor. What a mess. But no, Erik wasn't going to think about all of that tonight. No, tonight he was going to decompress and try not to think about how crazy everything was right now.

Erik wasn't all that concerned with the direction his life was currently taking. It's true that he hadn't really believed a word the Seer had told him, but no one could blame him for that. Prophetic dreams were still just dreams, and no one could really say whether they were real or not until whatever had been prophesied actually happened. But it _had_ happened, and Erik saw no downside to it. Eleven was a nice kid and Erik knew without a doubt that he was doing the right thing for once in his life. That… was such a relief that he couldn't even think of how to put it into words. He didn't regret his life of thieving, not one little bit. The world wasn't all sunshine and roses, and sometimes you had to take what you needed to get by in it. He _did_ kind of regret thinking so badly of Derk, even if it had just been for a short while, but the threat of backstabbing was just par for the course in his trade.

 _Derk._ Now that had been a surprise. Derk had always seemed to enjoy the adventure and threat of danger inherent in their line of work. But the man had opened up a shop, settled down, and even gotten married. Heck, he'd even looked respectable. Sure, he'd said he'd done it all to help Erik out, but it had been easy enough to see that his old partner had been enjoying his new direction in life. Erik couldn't fault him for that. To be happy with your life… That was the ideal, right? Well, Erik had a ways to go before he could say anything about that, but it sure felt like he'd taken the first initial steps to getting there. _Maybe…_

Eh, he was beginning to sound maudlin, even in his own head. Taking the time to be still and catch his breath after an intensely grueling two days was good, thinking about the past to the point where he started getting soppy about it was not. The sky was clear, the stars shown brightly above them with Erdwin's Lantern twinkling down upon his successor, who was already asleep by the sound of it. Oh, Eleven didn't snore (thank god), but Erik had a good ear, and the cadence of his Luminary's breathing had deepened a short while ago. Sleep was a good idea, they had their work cut out for them on the morrow. There was no way he was just going to sit around and twiddle his thumbs while Flint did all the work of getting that bridge back up into working order.

\---

In the morning, it took less wheedling than Erik thought it would to get Flint to allow them to help. Then again, he didn't suppose anyone had the ability to stay strong in the face of Eleven looking like the most innocent angel on the face of the planet. That pretty face of his was lethal when Eleven had the mind to put it to good use. Flint only let them help in transporting the wood he'd need to rebuild the bridge though, so it wasn't too big of a victory. But Erik would take what they could get. There was another bothersome issue though…

"So… What do you do about the cyclops?" Erik asked curiously as Flint went about setting up a professional looking rope and pulley system for getting up and down the cliffs.

"Not a single one of them is a morning person," Flint answered affably while he continued to work. "As long as you get back up before midday, you have nothing to fear."

"Really? Wow, that's handy to know," Erik said as he watched Eleven hand Flint another rope. Eleven's apparent youth and obvious interest in what the woodcutter was doing was apparently enough to get him farther along on the "helping out" bandwagon than Erik. Not that he was complaining. Learning new things, even just by observing the proceedings, was always a good thing.

"Yep," Flint declared cheerfully as he nodded his thanks to Eleven. "They're a pretty lazy lot. No too much of a bother. Though I suppose if you do see one out and about in the morning, then something pretty bad must have happened. Probably best to just go hide or something if that's the case."

Erik nodded agreeably as Flint waved Eleven off and started making his way down the bridge's framework. Erik and Eleven spent the rest of the morning lowering batches of wood down when indicated, and then just watching the woodcutter work in the meantime. Flint definitely knew what he was doing, and was finished repairing the bridge's struts and supports with time to spare before midday. They spent the rest of the morning hauling around the rest of the wood the older man would need to finish the job. By the time lunchtime rolled around, Erik had worked up an appetite, and was certain that Eleven and Flint were also to the point of starving. Flint surprised them with a hearty stew he'd left simmering on a flame the night before. Good stuff, though Erik wondered over the wisdom of leaving a flame lit in a wooden cabin overnight. It just seemed like a bad idea to him overall. But oh well, whatever worked, he supposed. It was Flint's house, after all, and if the man didn't think it was a risk to cook inside, who was Erik to tell him otherwise.

Night fell again before Flint had finished with the bridge, and they ate the remainder of the stew for dinner. The sky was clear again. The stars twinkled and Erdwin's Lantern continued to glimmer far above them. It was peaceful, and Erik just let it wash over him. In the morning, they'd finally be on their way, back into danger and adventure and whatever else they'd end up tripping over. Erik would go back to being the thief who stole from the king and Eleven would go back to being the Luminary whom Heliodor thought was the Darkspawn. Thing were probably going to heat back up pretty fast, best to enjoy this while they could. No telling when they'd have something like this again.

\---

Flint was chipper as you please as Erik and Eleven watched him put the finishing touches on the repaired bridge the next morning. The woodcutter wished them well once he was done, and then regaled them with his theory about Eleven's little trick with the glowing plant. The "Guidance of Yggdrasil" made a tremendous amount of sense. Eleven was the Luminary, and the Luminary was **the** hero, being Yggdrasil's favorite little leaf seemed like a no brainer in light of that. Still, that glowing vine plant being one of Yggdrasil's roots seemed pretty… odd. Yggdrasil floated high up in the sky. None of its hanging roots reached the ground. How did one of them actually get to the Manglegrove? And why was it poking up out of the ground? That… that was weird. Flint's apparent envy of Eleven's hair, on the other hand, was pretty amusing.

They gave him their farewells and headed out across the bridge, their steps unburdened for the time being. Once on the other side, Erik found that he still did not care for the Manglegrove. There was another cow. It looked exactly like the cow they'd met before. Why was there another cow? Or was it the same cow? Erik wasn't sure he even wanted to know, but Eleven, being his ever so polite self, had already decided on their next course of action. The cow had looked their way, and Eleven had waved at it before heading over to… speak with it. Sure. Okay. They could get the weather. It never hurt to know if rain was coming.

"Good mooooning," the cow greeted them cheerfully. "Would you like to hear today's forecast?"

"Are you the same mooterologist we met on the other side of the gorge?" Eleven asked her curiously.

"Oh no," the cow replied in the negative, though she sounded delighted at the recognition, "that would be my twin sister. We were assigned to different areas of the Manglegrove. The weather here is very odd and tends to be different on the opposing sides of the big gorge."

"That's fascinating," Eleven said, and he did actually sound interested. "Is this your first assignment as well?"

"Oh no!" The cow shook her head in denial, though she still sounded incredibly enthusiastic. "I joined the Mooterology Network several months before my sister applied. I was assigned to another area until she finished her training. Once she was ready to get out there and take the bull by the horns, we were both assigned to the Manglegrove. It's been quite the experience."

Erik just… let Eleven continue on with the rest of his conversation. The forecast was clear skies until the afternoon, and then there would be more rain, but they should be done with this lunatic asylum by then. She did mention something about a heavy smell of fresh ash on the breeze, but Erik figured that was just from all the burnt bridges. He probably should have paid more attention to that. 

_He really, really ought to have paid more attention to that_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I shifted around a few events in the Manglegrove, mostly because it seemed kind of stupid for them to enter in the middle of the night. Ergo them hitting the campground right as they find it just didn't really work well at all. I've also not written the Fun-Sized Forge in because it's not really relevant or dumb enough to include except in the whole "Where exactly were you keeping that, Erik?" angle. If Erik has a subspace pocket in his pants, then I just don't want to know.


End file.
